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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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Hancock. 



The Life and Public Services 



WiNFiELi) Scott Hancock, 

Major-Geneyal United States Army: Dfntucratic Nominee for President in li: 



n Y A . T. F R K \L \) 



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CIl ICAGO: 
HENRY A. SUMNER & COMPANY, PUBLISHERS. 

1880. 



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CfU'YKIOHTKU: 
11 K N K Y A . S U M N E R A: O. 

1680. 



LIFE AND rUBLlC SEIIVIC1^:S 

OP 

WiNFiELD Scott Hancock. 



CHAPTER I . 

WiNFiBLD Scott Hancock w;is born nuar Moniguinery 
Sfiuaro, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on tlie 14th 
of Fel)ruary, 1824, He is the son of Benjamin Franklin 
and Elizabeth Hancock ; and has two brotliers, Hilaiy, 
!iis twin l)rother, and John, wlio is some years younger. 

When Winfield was four years old, Mr. Hancock re- 
mijved to Norristown, the county seat of Montgomery 
County, and here the lad received his early education, 
amid scenes calculated to awaken the entliusiasm and fostei' 
the [)atriotism of any intelligent boy. Blessed by nature 
almost beyond parallel, Eastern Pennsylvania might well 
be called the garden of the Lord. Her rolling fields yield 
rich harvests to repay the husbandman's toil ; lier vast 
sweep of broad champaign and lovely glen, of tree clad 
mountain and bosky dell, ravish the eye of the tt)urist ; 
her winding streams — the broad Susquehanna and Dela- 



ware, the " Blue Juniata," the placid Schuylkill, and the 
romantic Wissahickou — are famed in song and story ; and 
beneath her rich soil lie richer treasures in coal and ores 
than are gathered from the glittering mines of California 
and Nevada. To the patriotic American, too, the spot is 
holy ground. Yonder at Brandywine the patriot army 
gallantly resisted Howe's advance upon Philadelphia. 
There at Germanto wn the sudden dash of Washington 
upon the foe, almost successful, was suddenly turned into 
disaster. Away to the east lies the place where tiie bril- 
liantly-conceived and ably-executed passage of the Dela- 
ware resulted in the victory of Trenton. And close at 
hand is the spot which lies nearer to the American heart 
than any of her storied fields of fame — Valley Forge, the 
camp in which, when all the heavens were black and all 
the air was full of dismay, a little band of stern patriots, 
encouraged and clieered by their loved chief, kept alive 
the fires on liberty's altar. 

Winfield received his schooling at the village academy ; 
but his education was largely carried on at home. His 
parents never entertained the delusion that their respcuisi- 
bility for their children ended when they paid the bills for 
their clothing and education. The watchful eye was al- 
ways upon them ; and the successful general probably owes 
more to his father's tireless help, and his mother's loving 
counsel in those early days than to his native abilities or 
his own.exertions. Winfield was an apt scholar, proficient 
in all his studies, with a special taste for scientific invest)- 



9 

gatioii and an instinct, early devel()[)od, for cliildish parade 
and the mimicry of war. In the schoolboys' juvenile drills 
he was always chosen captain ; indeed, he was always a 
leader among his fellows. But he had the respect and 
good opinion of his elders as well as of his playmates ; and 
it is evidence not only of his proficiency as a scholar, but 
of his high standing as a boy that, when only fifteen years 
old, he was selected by the people of Norristown to read 
in public the Declaration of Independence on his country's 
natal day. 

A circumstance, characteristic of the boy and of his 
magnanimity and manliness, took place about this time. 
At school with Winfield was a poor little orphan boy over 
whom some of the larger scholars were disposed to tyran- 
nize. Winfield at once took the part of the little fellow, 
fought his battle, shared with him his pennies, and became 
his hero and idol. Little Johnnie Everman was poor and 
weak then, and lame as well ; but many years later, when 
all the world was ringing with the deeds of the dashing 
soldier, John W. Everman, the wealthy and honored 
citizen of Philadelphia, introduced into tlie civic council 
resolutions granting to Hancock a public reception, and 
the freedom of the City of Philadelphia. With his own 
hand he presented those resolutions to his former protector 
in the presence of the chivalry and beauty of Pennsylvania, 
within the sacred precincts of Independence Hall. 

To Major Renniman (Denison) we are indebted for an 
account of the circumstances whicli led to Winfield's 



10 

selection for a cadetship in the United States Military 
Academy, the turning point of his life. Tiie Hon. Joseph 
Fornauce, the representative in Congress for the Mont- 
gomery District, had the privilege of naming a cadet. A 
resident of Philadelphia, who nursed ambitious views 
concerning his son, had moved into the district, and was 
employing influence to secure the appointment. Among 
those whose good offices he was desirous to secure, was 
an eccentric old lawyer, a man of wealth and of much 
local influence. This lawyer had a high opinion of his 
Phihidelphia friend, and had given him a horse, still fine- 
looking, but whicli was too old for the severe work the 
lawyer required. The Pliiladelphian Avas profuse in his 
thanks, and promised to take excellent care of the animal ; 
and not to work him too hard. Being in Philadelphia on 
business one day, the donor, to his surprise, saw the 
horse harnessed to a dray, the driver lashing him to make 
him pull a load beyond his strength. The lawyer bought 
him back and rode him home. Passing Mr. Hancock's 
house, he called that gentleman to the door and abruptly 
asked : •' Mr. Hancock, would you like to have Winlield 
appointed to a cadetship at West Point ?" "• Really," 
said Mr. Hancock, "I have never thought of such a 
thing. The matter comes upon me so suddenly that I 
can not answer at once : I must have time to think of it." 
" Think it over then," responded the lawyer, '' and I will 
call in the morning and learn your decision." A family 
council was held, and, mainly at Mrs. Hancock's solicita- 



11 

tion, the question was decided in the affirmative. The 
hiwyer's influence was potent in tlie matter. Mr. For- 
nance submitted Winfield's name for appointment ; and, 
on July 1, 1840, he entered upon his student life at the 
National Military Academy at West Point. Among his 
classmates was Ulysses S. Grant. 



12 



C H A P T Ell 11. 

Hancock graduated in 1844, and was assigned to duty 
with the Sixth Regiment of Infantry, with the rank of 
second lieutenant. He served in the Southwest, on and 
near the Red River till the breaking out of the Mexican war, 
when his regiment was ordered to join the army of Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott. Hancock was engaged in no actual 
fighting till near the close of the struggle, when he partici- 
pated in the battles of Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del 
Rey and Chapultepec. Later events in our history have 
dwarfed the proportions of these engagements; but at the 
time they were looked upon as very bloody encounters ; 
and the newspapers of tliat day employed their very 
largest display type to tell the public that no less than 
eleven hundred of our gallant men had fallen in the desper- 
ate struggle at Cherubusco. But it must be remembered, 
that to the individual soldier the small engagement is as 
serious as the conflict which topples thrones and makes 
the whole world tremble. Hancock received honorable 
mention and a brevet for meritorious services in those 
battles. 

On the conclusion of peace he was among the last to 
leave Mexico, when he was stationed near Prairie du 
Chien. In 1849 he married Almira, daughter of Samuel 
Russell, a merchant of St. Louis, It is suflBcient to say 



13 

that his married life has been more than usnally happy. 
Mrs. Hancock has accompanied her husband to most of 
his posts of duty. A son and a daughter has blessed the 
union. 

After a brief term of service in Florida, the Sixth 
Regiment was ordered first to Kansas and then to Cali- 
fornia. The march was made across the continent, and 
this is probably the longest continuous march ever made 
by a body of troops. In 1861 the war of secession broke 
out. At his urgent request Hancock was transferred to 
the East, though not without delay; and in September 
of the year named, he landed in New York. Without so 
much as pausing to visit his parents, he hastened to Wash- 
ington and reported for duty. The blunder was at first 
made of turning him into a Commissary ; but General 
McClellan recommended him for a brigade, and after a 
delay of a few days Hancock received the commission of a 
brigadier-general and was assigned to duty in the division 
of General Smith. His command comprised the Forty- 
ninth Pennsylvania, the Forty-third New York, the Fifth 
Wisconsin, and the Ninth Maine. His commission bore 
date September 23, 1861. 

In October General McClellan was appointed to the 
command of the Army of the Potomac, which he pro- 
ceeded to organize and drill before putting it into the 
field to fight battles. A discussion of his policy in this 
respect does not come within the province of this memoir ; 
but it is pertinent to say that Hancock fully approved it. 



\ 

The Southerners, more familiar with the use of arms than 
the people of the North, had the further advantage that 
they had been prepared for war from the beginning of 
the secession movement. The army of Northern Virginia, 
too, was flushed with the victory at Bull Run. It was 
believed that the North, vastly preponderating, as it did, 
in wealth and in appliances for the production of warlike 
material, could better afford to wait than could the South, 
whose means were limited and whose ports were already 
closed to the commerce of the world. And so for six 
months Hancock became a drill-master. It must be borne 
in mind that at this time not only were the privates ab- 
solutely raw, but that their commanders were but very 
little better instructed in the art of war. The few officers 
who had received a military education, not only were com- 
pelled to attend to the executive business of tlieir com- 
mands, but were forced as well to become drill-sergeants, 
to teach the other officers what they in turn were to 
teach the privates. To Hancock's tireless energy and 
efficiency during this period of apparent inactivity much 
of his later success is due. 

Early in April, 1862, McClellan moved on Richmond 
via the York peninsula. The plan was opposed by Pres- 
ident Lincoln, who feared that so soon as Washington 
was uncovered the enemy would make a dash upon it. 
He reasoned that the Confederates would hold the loss of 
Richmond cheap, if by the sacrifice they could gain Wash- 
ington with the prospect of encouraging Maryland to de- 



15 

dare for them. He therefore stipulated that a force suf- 
ficient to protect the capital should be retained in its 
front, and this was stationed at Fredericksburg under 
General Irwin McDowell. 

Reaching the York peninsula, McClellan found the 
enemy entrenched at Yorktown. He ought to liave 
attacked at once ; there can ])e no doubt of that ; but he 
sat down and besieged for a month a place which he 
could have carried hy a coiq) de main in an hour. But 
McClellan lacked dash and moral courage. He invariably 
underestimated his own strength and overestimated that 
of his enemy. Tlie siege was harassing, but not Ijloody. 
The people of the country sympathized with the Southern 
cause and gave all the information in their power to the 
re])el leaders, while Union officers were almost entirely 
ignorant of the movements or strength of the opposing 
force. These people possessed the greater opportunities 
for gaining knowledge of our force and positions by 
coming into the Union lines under professions of loyalty, 
sometimes bringing produce for sale at extortionate 
prices, and sometimes bringing information never proved 
to be correct and frequently known to be flagrantly false. 
One of these gentlemen, named Vollin, was particularly 
pertinacious in declaring his devotion to the Union cause, 
and particularly active in bringing in totally untrust- 
worthy intelligence. While on a scouting expedition, 
toward the close of tlie siege, attended by a small 
cavalry escort, Hancock was fired upon by half-a-dozen 



10 

bushwhackers. He hastily sent his troopers around to 
intercept their retreat, while he and his staff rode directly 
upon tlie guerillas. The result was that two were killed 
and a third taken. The prisoner proved to be Vollin. 
" Good morning, Mr. Vollin ; good morning, sir," said 
the General. " We have been looking for you for some 
time, Mr. Vollin." The fellow was silent. " I suppose," 
continued Hancock, " you are aware of the fate usually 
awarded to spies, Mr. Vollin." " I — suppose — 1 — am," 
stammered the latter. " Then you will please prepare 
for it at your earliest convenience, Mr. Vollin. Good 
morning, sir." 

A few days later, while Hancock was making a recon- 
noissance toward the enemy's position, at the head of a 
regiment of his brigade, he came suddeiily ui)on a rebel 
regiment, scarce a hundred yards from him. Both parties 
instantly sank to the ground and sought the cover of 
stumps and trees. The rebel officer in tliis emergency 
concluded to practice a little ruse. Cai-efnlly instructing 
his men to lie still and take good aim, he fiercely shouted 
"Charge!" thinking that at that terrible word the 
" Yankees " would start froin their cover to flee. But 
the Yankees lay still as the grave. " Charge ! " repeated 
the officer. His men rose ; but had scarce reached their 
feet when a withering volley from Hancock's regiment 
sent them to the rear at double-quick, and they were seen 
no more. 

By the first of May, McClellan's batteries were nearly 



17 

completed, and the 6th of that month was the date fixed 
for opening fire. Bat on tlie morning of the 4th it was 
discovered that during the night the enemy had evacuated 
liis works. The pursuit was instant and vigorous. At 
Williamsburg, Longstreet, who commanded the rebel 
rear, decided to fight to gain time for the escape of his 
trains. Hooker assailed him furiously, but was roughly 
handled. The impetuous Kearny dashed upon him; but, 
to say the least, gained no ground. The enemy's extreme 
left was defeuded by earthworks of considerable strength 
and protected by an intricate abattis. These works liad 
been abandoned, and Hancock, seeing that tliey flanked 
the enemy's line, promptly occupied two of them. At 
this juncture the rebels came upon him in strong force to 
drive him out. He held them at bay for some time, Init, 
finding himself ver}^ mucli outnumbered, he called for assist- 
ance. Genera] Couch sent him the Tenth iVIassachusetts. 
Still tlie enemy pressed upon him. Hancock pretended 
to I'etreat till the enemy was drawn into the open, wlien 
he suddenly faced about, [)oured volley after volley into 
their astonished ranks, which threw them into confusion. 
"Now, gentlemen, with the bayonet," cried Hancock. 
In another moment the command leaped forward, the 
rebel line broke, and the enemy's left flank was turned. 
The rebel loss here was between five hundred and six 
iiundred; Hancock's was Init one liundred and thirty. 
Aware of the impoi-tant advantage gained, and expecting 
a determined eifort to re-take the woi'ks, McClellan 

A* 



•18 

sent in stroni^ reinforcements ; l)ut in the morning 
the enemy had retreated.- Longstreet's' object, how- 
ever, had been secured ; time had been gained to 
enable his trains to make good their escape ; and he had 
inflicted at least as much loss as he had sustained. 

Hancock was the liero of the day. His brilliant 
charge, bringing about sucli important results, was higlily 
spoken of by all. McClellan, in his telegraphic report 
that evening said : 

" Gont-ral Hancock lias taken two redoul)ts and repulsed Early's 
rebel brigade by a real charge with the bayonet, taking one Colonel and 
one hundred and fli'ty other prisoners, and killing at least two Colonels 
and many privates. Ilis conduct was brilliant in (he extreme." 

McClellan resumed the march on Richmond, but slow- 
ly. A sudden pusli would no doubt have given him tlie 
rebel capital, where tlie defensive force was but 50,000 
men ; but his constitutional timidity stood in his way. 
In justice to him it must be said that the roads were 
abnost impassable for artillery and wagon trains. On the 
20th of May he readied the Chickaliominy. Immeditite- 
ly he threw two divisions across that stream and stretclied 
his ai'my out over twenty miles of country. The river 
was not fordal)le, and there was but a single bridge across 
it. The corps of Keyes and Heintzelman were moved up 
to Fair Oaks or Seven Pines, only four miles from Rich- 
mond, where, on tlie oOth of June, under cover of a tre- 
mendous thunder-storm, tlie enemy fell upon them with 
nearly his whole force. The fight lasted two days. At 
the close of the first d;iy, the Union troops, hi,rgely out- 



19 

numbered, had been forced back full two miles. Next 
day Sumner and Hooker reached the field, and the rebels 
were disastrously repulsed. The last fighting was done 
liy the division of the gallant Richardson, of Illinois, 
which was that afterward commanded by Hancock — the 
First Division of the Second Corps. Hurling back the 
last desperate assault of the enemy, and fairly crushing 
his columns, Richardson was pushing on into Richmond, 
when orders recalled him. Hancock was not actively 
engaged in this battle 

McClellan still lay with his array on both sides of the 
Chickahominy. About the 20tli of June lie began to 
move to tlie right bank. By the '24th his army was 
across, except Porter's command of about 80,000 ; and 
he announced liis purpose to move at once on Richmond. 
Stonewall Jackson, meantime, had joined Lee ; and (he 
latter, simultaneously with McClellan's movements, had 
crossed from the right to the left bank of the Chickahom- 
iny, some miles higher u[>, with the intention of destroy- 
ing the Union forces before aid could reach them. It 
was the scheme of Fair Oaks over again. Then the weak 
left was assailed ; now the left had been strengthened and 
the right weakened; and there Lee [)i-oposed to strike a 
terrible blow. On the 2(3th A. P. Hill attacked two 
Union brigades of McCalTs division, strongly posted in 
advance of Porter's corps, but met a bloody i'epuls(!. The 
Union position here was untenable, and the foi'ces were 
withdrawn during the night. Next day, with about 



20 

65,000 troops, including the corps of Longstreet, A. P. 
Hill, D. H. Hill, and Jackson, Lee fell upon Porter. The 
battle is known as that of Gaine's Mill or Cold Harbor. 
Porter was outnumbered two to one ; but he was strongly 
posted and his men fought well. He was pressed at 
every point, and he had not a man in reserve. From two 
o'clock till four he held his ground with magnificent cour- 
age, hurling back charge after charge, but growing less 
able at every onset. At four o'clock Slocum came to his 
relief. He sent the reinforcements regiment by I'egiment 
to the weakest points, and so held on to his position with 
a death grip for two hours more. Exce})t a single l)ri- 
gade the whole rebel force was in action, and fighting 
desperately. It was half-past six, and Porter's only hope 
was to hold on tUl dark. Suddenly a great shudder 
passed along his line, and, as if moved by a common im- 
pulse, his whole corps rolled back from the deadly shock. 
All seemed lost. At that critical moment French and 
Meaghei' appeared upon the scene with the Second and 
Third brigades of Richardson's division. Inspired with 
new courage. Porter's men faced about at once, dashed 
u[)on their enemy and fairly drove him from the field. 

McClellan believed that there was a very strong force 
between him and Richmond, whereas there was only 
Magruder's division, about 18,000 strong. This division 
kept up a great show of assailing McClellan at different 
points, which the nature of the country enabled it to do 
with comparative impunity, and entire success in keeping 



21 

60,000 men on that side of the Chickahominy, wliile tlie 
main rebel army was pounding the life out of Porter. 
And so the Union commander did not dare weaken his 
left, lest while Lee cut liim off from his l)ase of supplies 
at Yorktown, Magruder should cut his line of retreat to 
the James. Directly across the Chickahominy from Por- 
ter's bloody field lay Smith's division, with Hancock's 
brigade on its left. During the night of the 27th Porter's 
men were withdrawn and marclied pass Smith's rear 
toward the left of McClellan's line, destroying the bridge 
across the Chickahominy. In the morning Smitli began 
to fall back. McClellan had resolved to change his base 
to the James River, and the corps of Sumner and Heintzel- 
man were ordered to guard the rear. As Smith was fall- 
ing back, Toombs's reljel brigade made a dasli at Hancock. 
The assailants were flung back witli fi'ightful loss. Among 
the prisoners were Col. L. Q. C. Lamar and liis I^iieuten- 
ant-Colonel. 

McClellan left Sumner and Heintzebnan at Savage 
Station to guard his rear, while his otlier corps pushed on 
toward the James. Hancock's brigade was witli the rear 
guard, but, tlirough some misconception of his orders, 
Heintzelman fell back. When the enemy attacked, as he 
did repeatedly and savagely, the brunt of the figlit fell upon 
Hancock, Burns, and Brooke, magnificently sustained by 
Pettit's, Hazzard's, Osborne's and Bramhall's batteries. 
Our men had been continuously on duty since the 26t]i ; 
but every desperate assault was rolled back with calm de- 



22 

termination, and when nig'lit fell no i-ebel soldier had sol 
Iiis foot within the Union lines. When darkness put an 
end to the carnage Sumner ordered a retreat, leaving 
2,500 wounded to fall into the enemy's hands. This battle 
is known as that of Savage Station, and was fought on the 
29th of June. 

Lee had crossed the Cliickahominy on the 29lh with 
his whole force ; made a forced march parallel to the line 
of retreat and, on the 30th, fell upon McCall, Kearny and 
Hooker, at Frazer's Farm. Jeff Davis had come down to 
see the fray, and Lee, having ordered up every man un- 
der his command, even calling in Wise's troops from 
F(jrt Darling, had no doubt that he would pierce the 
(Inion center, and capture the whole rear division. At 
(irst he gained some success, driving in McCall ; l)ut 
Fighting Joe Hooker came u?i, the fiery Kearny came up, 
and the whole rebel line was rolled back in ragged rout, 
and was fain to seek a I'etreat in the thick woods, beneath 
the friendly shelter of the night. Hancock was still in 
the rear guard, and on this atiother desperate assault was 
made at Glendale, by Stonewall Jackson. But yet again 
the enemy's assaults were firmly and steadily repulsed. 
W.hen darkness set in the wearied troops, wlio liad now 
been figliting all day and marching id! niglit for five con- 
secutive days, once more took the route for the new base 
on James river. Next day the Union army took position 
at Malvern Hill ; and here Lee, on the first of July, 
dashed once more u[>on its lines, only to be hurled liack 



23 

again with fi-ightful slaughter. The portion of the line iii 
which Hancock was stationed was not attacked. After 
once more beating off his persistent foe, McClellan re- 
treated still again to Harrison's Landing, and, with a lit- 
tle more deliberation, Lee retreated to Richmond, eucli 
devontly returning thanks to Almigliiy God for liaving 
vouclisafed him a noble victory. 



24 



CHAP T I^: R III. 

McClellan was ordered back to Washinirton, and the 
^^i-eater part of liis coinmaiid was transferred to Pope. 
The second battle of Bull Run followed, in which Han- 
cock did not take part. Pope was beaten, and McClellan 
once more took command of the army. Lee crossed the 
Potomac into Maryland, leavin_q; a force to invest Hai-per's 
Ferrj^, which was surrendered throuc;'h cowardice or 
treachery. Franklin, in whose corps Hancock's brigade 
was placed, was sent to I'clicvc that im[)ortant post; but 
wiis too late. Fi'anklin found liis I'oad across the Cato(;tin 
Mountains liai'red at Cram[)ton's Ga,[) by Howell Cobb, 
who was ordered to hold his ground at all hazards. Fraid<- 
liii l)ruslied him aAvn,}-, however, with the loss of a, lew 
hundred men, and, being too late to rcdieve Harper's 
Ferr}', hasteiuid on to tiie neighWorhood of Sharpsville, 
wliere, McClellan having forced the passage of South 
Mountain at Fisher's Gap, the two armies stood glaring 
at each other across Antietam Creek. 

The passage of the Antietam could not Ije forced in 
the face of tlie enemy; and on the 16th, Hooker was 
sent up the river about two miles, where he crossed un- 
opposed, and, turning southward, struck the enemy's left, 
gaining some advantage, and desisting only as darkness 



25 

fell. In the morning Hooker again attacked with great 
fury, his corps still being the only one west of the stream. 
Burnside was ordered to force a passage on McClellan's 
left, but he considered himself unable to do so, and made 
no very serious attempt. Lee was therefore at liberty to 
oppose nearly his whole force to Hooker, and the latter 
was quickly worsted, he himself being badly wounded. 
Mansfield was sent to his aid, but his corps was pitted 
alone against the whole rebel left ; and, when it was 
forced back and Mansfield was killed, Sumner came 
upon the scene. He struck the enemy a little to the left 
of the previous fighting ; but he, too, was left unsup- 
ported, and, tliough his troops at first gained ground, he 
was at length forced to retire, though his First Division, 
under Ricliardson, held its position in the corn-field. 
Just as Sumner's attack was seen to have failed, Frank- 
lin arrived on the ground. Smith's division, includino- 
Hancock's brigade, was ordered to carry the ground so 
long and so hotly contested. The men advanced at 
double-quick, carried the position at a dash, cleared the 
woods and the corn-field of their defenders in ten 
minutes, and held their ground there witliout serious 
molestation. Their loss was not great. Porter and 
Burnside liad as yet done nothing. Sumner, Mansfield 
and Hooker had been beaten in detail, though tlie 
enemy was content with holding his position, when, 
late in the day, Franklin came to the relief of the 
right, and Burnside at length made the long-delayed 



26 

attempt to force the lower bridge. He made good liis 
crossing, but his further advance was checked, and the 
enemy was once more concentrating to crush him, when 
Sumner again struck his center. The First Division of 
his corps, led by Richardson, amid a perfect storm of 
canister and musketry advanced once more from the corn- 
field, and again forced back the enemy ; but Richardson 
fell in the struggle. In the middle of the fight, Hancock 
was sent to the command of the division, and from this time 
till the Summer of 1863, the history of Hancock is that of 
the First Division of the Second Army Corps. The fight- 
ing at Antietam was nearly over when Hancock assumed 
his new command. Our army, fighting a single corps and 
sometimes a single division at a time, had been out- 
numbered at every point of contact and repulsed in many 
places ; yet the enemy had suffered about as heavily as 
the Union army ; and McCleUan had all his troops across 
the Antietam, except the reserve corps of Fitz John 
Porter. The next day, the 18th, was passed in inactivity. 
During the ensuing night Lee retreated. 

Some harassing but not important operations fol- 
lowed, including a reconnoisance to Martinsburg, led by 
Hancock. On the 7th of November, McClellan was 
retired from the command of the Army of the Potomac, 
and was succeeded by Burnside, whose diffidence in him- 
self and doubts of his ability to command so great an 
army, were justified by events. On the 29tli of Novem- 



27 

ber, Hancock was promoted to be major-general of vol- 
unteers. 

In December the Union army was concentrated at 
Fredericksburg, and Burnside determined to cross the 
Rappahannock at that place and move toward Richmond. 
A force was detailed from Hancock's division to guard 
the pontoniers in laying bridges, but the fire of the rebel 
sharpshooters was so destructive that the attempt was 
abandoned. Volunteers were then called for, who leaped 
into the pontons, pushed across under a sharp fire, and 
drove the enemy from his rifle-pits on the south side of 
the river. As the boats were pushing off, Robert Hen- 
dershot, a drummer-boy attached to the Seventh Michi- 
gan regiment, leaped into the water, seized the boat and 
made good the crossing. His bravery earned him the 
sobriquet of the Drummer Boy of the Rappahannock. 

During the 12th the army crossed by several bridges, 
which were now constructed without opposition. Burn- 
side's plan was to engage the enemy warmly in front, 
which Sumner was ordered to do, while Franklin, com- 
manding the left, whicli had been greatly strengthened, 
was to gain Lee's riglit, turn his flank, and render his 
position untenable. Franklin appears not to have un- 
derstood his orders as Burnside intended them to be un- 
derstood, and, instead of delivering a strong and deter- 
mined assault he weakly engaged two of his nine divis- 
ions, and when these were, as a matter of course, driven 
back by superior numbers, he desisted from further effort. 



28 

On tlie right a different state of things existed. The 
enemy here were posted on a hill known as Marge's 
Heights. Its summit was covered with batteries ; its 
sides were seamed with rifle-pits, and at its foot ran a 
sunken road sustained by stone walls. The front was so 
narrow that the attacking force was formed in column by 
brigades. Between the rebel position and the sheltering 
streets of the town was an open common a quarter of a 
mile in width, intersected by a mill-race, and across this 
Sumner's men rushed to an impossible task. French 
took the lead ; but his column melted away under a mur- 
derous fire. Then came Hancock. As his men broke 
from their cover, a storm of deadly hail broke upon their 
ranks. The whole atmosphere was alive with invisible 
but busy messengers of death. The summit of the hill 
was clothed with the sulphurous breath of eighty guns, 
and three lines of volleying musketry showed where the 
long ranks of rebel soldiery, themselves protected, were 
pouring murderous volleys into the advancing lines. The 
ground was heavy with red Virginia mud, and through 
this the devoted division pushed its way, like some strong 
bird breasting the tempest and defying the very light- 
nings of heaven. At every step dozens of men fell dead. 
At every moment great gaps were torn in the ragged line 
by the relentless storm of lead and iron. Flags fell as 
their bearers fell; were seized by new hands, rose and 
struggled on. The foot of the hill was reached; but, 
great God! how few lived to reach it! A oallant division 



29 

started on the faithful errand ; a mere handful dashed 
itself in lieroic devotion and impotent valor against the 
solid stone wall, beyond which no man, through all that 
fatal day, was able to go. Zook launched his command 
forward like a catapult. Meagher's green-and-gold trap- 
pings gleamed at the head of the Irish brigade like a bat- 
tle flag. Hancock was everywhere, directing, encourag- 
ing, commanding. But all was of no avail ; for two mor- 
tal hours the unequal strife lasted, and the gallant band 
rolled back, almost annihilated. Some regiments left 
eighty per cent, of their men on the field. Other troops 
were in turn devoted to slaughter in spite of Sumner's 
piteous prayers to have them spared from so impossible a 
task ; but Burnside was firm ; and when night fell, ten 
tliousand dead and wounded men lay upon a little patcli of 
ground not a quarter of a mile in extent. The frightful 
carnage may be gathered from the fact that few more 
than 30,000 men were under fire in the wliole battle, and 
the losses were nearly 15,000. Franklin's men did not 
suffer at all in proportion to the others, so that the mor- 
tality in the divisions of Hancock and French was simply 
appalling. After reporting the losses given above, the 
Medical Inspector General added : " The return of killed 
may be too small." Many of the soldiers engaged be- 
lieved that the casualties had been purposely reduced to 
hide from the army and the country the extent of the 
sacrifice. 

After Fredericksburg the troops returned to their can- 



30 

tonments north of the Rappahannock, and Hancock de- 
voted himself to the care of his division. Tie made fre- 
quent inspections, ordered thorough drills, adopted 
measures to secure the full supplies of rations and cloth- 
ing to which his men were entitled, and in every way 
labored to restore their 7no7-ale. The soldiers soon recov- 
ered from the depression caused by defeat ; and when the 
movement toward Chancellorville began, there was not a 
finer body of men in the army, nor one more ready to 
meet the enemy than the First Division of the Second 
Corps. 

A circumstance showing the conditions under which 
our men were sometimes called upon to fight, may be here 
related. A regiment which had just joined Hancock's 
division, was armed with Belgian rifles. These were con- 
tract weapons, made of miserable material, not finished at 
all ; the bayonets were of soft iron, and many of the 
muskets had springs so weak that they would not explode 
a percussion cap. General Zook inspected the regiment. 
After reviewing the men his attention was called to their 
arms. He took a musket from a soldier, thrust the bay- 
onet into the ground and bent it to an angle of ninety 
degrees. Then he put a cap upon the nipple and pulled 
the trigger half a dozen times, but the cap failed to ex- 
plode. " There is one thing satisfactory about these 
arms," said the General. " What is that ? " asked the 
Colonel of the regiment. " I am thoroughly satisfied 
they're not worth a damn ! " returned Zook. Report was 



31 

made to Hancock, but he had no power in the matter. 
"'Tell the men," he said, "to look around them as soon 
as they get into a fight. They'll find plenty of guns on 
the field." Two days latQ.i- the regiment was put into 
the vortex of fire under Marge's Heights ; but death was 
too busy among its members just then to leave them any 
time to look around for new guns. They left half their 
number on the field, and probably did not kill a man on 
the other side. 



32 



CHAP T E R J V. 

The array took the route for Chancellorville on the 
28th of April, 1863. Hooker's plan was very simple. 
Leaving Sedgwick at Falmouth to stand guard between 
Lee and Washington, he took the Second, Third, Fifth 
and Eleventh Corps up the Rappahannock, found an un- 
defended crossing and soon had tlie bodies mentioned on 
the south side of that stream. The First Corps and part 
of the Twelfth afterward joiued him there, leaving with 
Sedgwick about 25,000 men. 

An incident of tlie advance toward Chancellorville is 
worth giving. The march was begun at four o'clock in 
the morning, but Gen. Hancock was detained, receiving 
orders from Gen. Couch, the commandant of the corps. 
Riding toward the head of his division, as he reached the 
Irish Brigade he suddenly reined in his horse, leaped to 
the ground, leaned against a tree and threw up his break- 
fast. The brigade had halted for a rest, and Hancock, 
turning toward the men, remarked quietly, " Boys, this 
getting up so early is very unhealthy." '' Ah, thin, Gin- 
eral dear," said a member of the Sixty-ninth New York, 
" won't you have the laste sup in the world to take the 
taste out av yer mouth ? It's right good shtuff — it's good 
enough for a gineral." In the meantime Hancock had 
taken a drink, and was handing back the canteen to its 



33 

owner. "Too good, too good," he said ;" it's good 
enough for a private in the Sixty-ninth." Tiie next mo- 
ment he was galloping on as though nausea was unknown 
to him. 

Hancock's command crossed the river on the 1st of 
May, and reached the battle-fiehl about midnight. In 
the morning it was engaged in feeling for the enemy along 
the left of Hooker's line ; duty of great difficulty. His 
men reported from time to time tliat large bodies of rebels 
were moving toward the right, but no adequate measures 
were taken to meet the evident effort to overwhelm our 
right. Near evening a sudden and tremendous onset of 
Stonewall Jackson's wliole corps swept l)ack our Eleventh 
corps, under Howard, and compelled the reconstruction 
of our line. The fugitives retired in the greatest disorder. 
The disaster left Hancock exposed in front and rear, and 
for a time he actually fought his division in both direc- 
tions. Fortunately the rebels did not press their attack. 
If tliey had the gallant division would have found itself in 
a very perilous predicament. In the midst of the fighting 
Hancock had his horse shot under him ; he leaped to the 
ground, threw his arms around the neck of the noble ani- 
mal to bid him farewell, and then sent an aide to put him 
out of misery. 

Historians whose descriptions of battles are wholly 
imaginary frequently have thrilling stories of the Iiorrible 
screams of wounded horses on the field. The writer does 
not deny that horses ever scream, since to do so would be 



34 

to claim that lie had observed the conduct of all wounded 
steeds whatever ; but he has seen a great many horses hit 
on tlie field, and has yet to hear one express itself in this 
way. In the case referred to, General Hancock's horse 
had his leg almost knocked off by a shell, so tliat it hung 
dangling by the skin, yet, so soon as it was left by its 
rider, it began cropping the grass. • 

On Sunday morning. May 3, Jackson's corps, now led 
by Stuart (Jackson having received his death wound), 
attacked Sickles with desperate fury, and forced him back 
somewhat, though thirty thousand men lay close at hand 
in entire inaction. Our line was then re-formed. In the 
mean time Sedgwick had carried the heights at Freder- 
icksburg, and was driving Ewell back on Lee's position. 
The latter detached the main part of his force to the aid 
of Ewell, who in turn drove Sedgwick back across the 
Rappahannock. While this fight was going on Hooker's 
force of sixty thousand men lay silent as the grave and 
never fired a musket to effect a diversion in favor of their 
comrades a few miles distant. On Wednesday morning 
Hooker recrossed the river. 

Shortly afterward, Couch withdrawing, Hancock was 
promoted to the command of the gallant Second Corps, and 
from that day till the close of the war the history of Han- 
cock is the history of the corps ; its fortunes were his ; its 
glory encircles his brow ; and where the trefoil battle flag 
gleamed like a meteor through the smoke of battle, there 
be sure was Hancock leadino' the charoe. 



35 

Soon after the battle of CliaiioellorviUe, Lee resolved 
on an invasion of the North. To this end he called to his 
standard every available man, and started on his errand 
with the finest army the Confederacy ever organized. It 
numbered fully 100,000; it was well drilled, al)ly led, and 
a series of successes had given its men a conviction that it 
was well nigh invincible. Moving up the Rapidan, Lee 
reached the valley of the Shenandoah, down which he 
marched leisurely. Hooker followed witli equal delibera- 
tion, keeping between the rebel army and Washington. 
Hancock guarded the rear, he himself being among the 
last to leave the lines on the Rappahannock. Moving 
rapidly thence to the neighborhood of Alexandria, he 
marched in a single day across the Bull Run battle field, 
to Thoroughfare Gap in the Bull Run Mountains, which 
he was ordered to guard, in order that a strong rebel 
force, supposed to be moving up the Luray Valley, might 
not break through. He retained only the First Division, 
his Second and Third being posted at other menaced 
points. Early in the morning picket firing announced 
the presence of the enemy, and it was soon discovered 
tliat a hostile division of 10,000 or 12,000 strong, instead 
of being on the other side of the mountains, was rapidly 
stealing around to capture Hancock's force, whicli, pei'- 
haps, comprised 2,000 men. In this emergency a weak 
man would have given up everything; a rash man would 
have dashed himself upon the enemy, with equally disas- 
trous results. Hancock did neither ; he comprehended 



36 

the situation at a glance, [>\vang his command round, "left 
in front," so as to cover his train and his cattle, presenting 
a solid line of such force as he had, unlimbered a battery, 
which began shelling the woods, and moved quickly 
northward. Order seemed to come out of chaos as if by 
magic; in a very few minutes his command had slipped 
from the rebel grasp, and lie lost twelve men in the skir- 
mish which ensued, in a position where it seemed, a quarter 
of an hour before, that his whole division was inevitably 
doomed to capture. Sometimes better generalship is 
required to avoid an unequal fight than to win a battle. 



37 



CHAPTER V. 



On the 27th of June, Hooker resigned the command 
of the army, and Meade became its leader. Both armies 
were then north of the Potomac. The rebel line was 
farther west than the Union army, reaching to Chambers- 
burg and Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, while Meade's army 
was in the neighborhood of Frederick, Maryland. Fol- 
lowing out the plan of campaign sketched by his prede- 
cessor, Meade resolved to concentrate his army on Pipe 
Creek, near Uniontown, and there offer battle. But 
Reynolds's corps, wliich took part at Gettysburg, was 
struck on the first of July by the rebels streaming back 
from the north, driven out of the town with considerable 
loss, and its leader killed. Hancock was twenty miles 
distant. When he heard the heavy boom of the guns, 
his quick ear told him that no mere skirmish was in pro- 
gress. Putting spurs to his liorse he galloped toward the 
field, leaving orders that his command should follow with 
all possible speed. Meade, who was at Taneytown, 
Maryland, sent orders to Hancock to examine the field 
and to decide whether it would be better that the troops 
at Gettysburg should fall back to the position originally 
selected, or that the other corps should hasten to their 



38 

assistance and decide the battle on the spot. Reaching 
the scene of conflict about three o'clock, Hancock found 
the First and Eleventh corps largely outnumbered, badly 
beaten, and falling back in confusion. Howard had suc- 
ceeded to the command when Reynolds fell, and was 
impotent to stay the flight of his men. Hancock's pres- 
ence acted like magic upon the fugitives. Stopping the 
tide of retreat, he reorganized the broken brigades ; 
formed a line along Cemetery Hill ; took in at one all- 
searching glance the capabilities of the ground ; and sent 
instant word to Meade that Gettysburg was the one spot 
of all spots in the world to fight out the crisis of the war, 
and to determine whether "government of the people, 
for the people, and by the people," should or should not 
perish from the earth. 

Before morning the whole army except the Sixth Corps 
was on the grounds. Hancock placed the troops as they 
came up, and when daylight of the 2d of July broke, Lee 
was confronted by 70,000 veterans. The Twelfth Corps 
occupied the right at Culp's Hill, a steep wooded eleva- 
tion. Then followed the Eleventh, First, Second and 
Fifth Corps. Sickles with the Third Corps, who should 
have occupied the space between the Second and Fifth, 
moved his command forward nearly a mile from the posi- 
tion assigned him, to the elevation known as Seminary or 
Oak Ridge, where his left was completely in air, leaving 
a wide gap between himself and the Fifth Corps. Blun- 
ders of this character seldom escaped the vigilant eyes of 



39 

the rebels ; and before Sickles could be retired to the line 
of Cemetery Ridge, the enemy was upon him. McLaws 
struck his left with great impetuosity, while Hood poured 
into the gap to get a position in his rear. Sickles himself 
never lacked courage, and both he and his men did all 
that could be done in tlie eraergenc}^ but, taken at every 
disadvantage, his left doubled up and melted away before 
the impetuous assault of Longstreet's veterans. At the 
very crisis of the struggle Sickles had his leg almost torn 
to pieces and he was borne from the field. In this emer- 
gency Hancock was the first to perceive that something 
must be done at once, or the disaster would be serious. 
But alas! his means were limited. He could spare from 
his own line only a single division, the First, scarce 2,000 
strong ; but, without a moment's hesitation, he flung that 
gallant handful into the vortex to stay the rushing sweep 
of five times their number. Thei'e was no time to change 
front ; but, swinging into line, "left in front," the command 
filed down a cross road leading toward Sherfy's peach 
orchard, paused among the boulders for a minute to catch 
breath, and then, silent as the grave, dashed into the open 
and fell upon the foe. For a moment the work was dead- 
ly and then the whole rebel line rolled back. Through a 
wheat field the gallant First followed the retiring enemy 
till the summit of Oak Ridge was reached, and across this 
the conflicting forces swayed and surged in the horrible 
embrace of mutual destruction. But the rebel division 
filled the whole line, while Hancock's brigades were a 



40 

quarter of a mile apart. They had no line — only groups 
of combatants. 

Suddenly an officer ran down from our right, announc- 
ing tliat the eneni}^ was once more flanking a division 
into the unfilled gap. Reluctantly tlie command to retire 
was given. The brigades filed oif and marched from the 
field as if on parade. The rebels rose with a yell to 
pursue, but paused aghast, for as Hancock's men drew 
off, a dark blue line was seen winding across from under 
the shelter of Little Round Top, and our gallant boys 
cheered once more as they caught glimpses of the stars 
and stripes gleaming through the smoke of war, and by 
its side the battle-flag of the glorious Sixth Corps. When 
the fight of the first opened, Sedgwick was thirty-five 
miles away ; but, hastily taking the road, he never 
paused till ho placed his command on the field, just in 
season to tiiwart for the second time Hood's effort to step 
into the gap which Sickles's mistake had opened. The 
struggle of this day was desperate and bloody. Zo(;k, 
commanding the Third Brigade, was killed. Col. Cross, 
commanding the First Brigade, was killed, and the Colonel 
who succeeded him shared his fate. Fall half the men 
who marched into that blood-stained wheat-field were 
killed or wounded. Among the most deeply lamented 
of those who fell was Lieutenant-Colonel Merwin, com- 
manding the Twenty-seventh Connecticut. 

Daring the conflict on the left a division of the 
Twelfth Corps had been drawn from our extreme right to 



41 

resist Longstreet's advance. In its absence Ewell as- 
saulted that strong position and gained a foothold there, 
so that the night of the second of July found the enemy 
in occupation of ground he had wrested from us on both 
our flanks. Witli the dawn of day Geary dashed back 
into his own line again, drove out Ewell after a fierce 
struggle, and restored the position on Gulp's Hill. On 
other parts of the field all was silent. About noon, how- 
ever, the crest of Seminary Ridge, oppo:site Hancock, be- 
gan to bristle with guns. Suddenly, with one tremendous 
roar, the dogs of war opened their iron throats, and all 
the air was filled with a roar of artillery such as the west- 
ern woi'ld has never witnessed before or since. Within a 
space of lialf a mile a hundred and twenty guns launched 
their iron liail, and mostly upon Hancock's corps. Gen- 
eral Hunt replied as best he could ; but the ground on 
our side was broken by rocks and trees, and he could 
place but eighty guns to reply to the rebel line. The con- 
test was unequal, and, after a tremendous duel of an hour, 
our overmatched artillerists drew back from the contest. 
For another hour the rebel guns made play, our infantry 
holding to tlieir position with a tenacity that not even 
that dreadful /gM d'enfer could shake. Then the clamor 
ceased, and from beneath the dense sulphurous masses 
that clothed Seminary Ridge the rebel hosts once more 
moved to the charge. This was the pick and flower of 
Southern chivalry. Pettigrew was there, Pickett was 
there, Wilcox was there, Heth was there, Pender was in 



42 

reserve, and Lee in person directed tlie movement and 

watched its result. The theater of this awful tragedy is 
an open valley having a rivulet running through its cen- 
ter. From this tiny streamlet tlie meadow slopes gently 
up to Seminary Ridge on the west and Cemetery Ridge on 
the east. From Sherfy's peach orchard to Hancock's 
left was nearly a mile ; but on our right the lines ap- 
proached more nearly. As the long rebel cor[)s opened 
out to view Hancock saw that the decisive hour had come. 
He hastily sent an aide to the Chief of Artillery. " Tell 
Major-General Hunt," said he, " to give me two batteries, 
and more if he can spare them." In a minute or two a 
couple of batteries of 2|-inch rifled guns came galloping 
up. '• Why do you bring those guns ? " shouted Han- 
cock in wrath. " [ don't want those pop-guns ! Tell 
General Hunt to give me some Napoleon guns. Stop ! 
I'll see General Hunt myself." Soon the bright chunky 
bronze guns came wheeling dowu, unlimbered and pre- 
pared to open upon the enemy. The Napoleon gun is a 
brass 12-poundei", throwing round shot, canister or shrap- 
nel. It sometimes throws grape ; but I l)elieve no grape 
was used at Gettysburg. 

Meanwhile " the long line came gleaming on" down 
the opposite slope. It was a gallant array. No coward 
hearts beat beneath those tattered battle-flags. These 
were the men who had contested every inch of ground from 
Fair Oaks to Chancellorville ; and, at " right shoulder 
shift" they stepped forward as if on parade. But now 



43 

the brazen bull-dogs began to bark. The range was eight 
hundred yards, and the Napoleon guns were loaded with 
canister. As each piece spoke there was a hurtling, rush- 
ing sound like an awful whisper of death shuddering down 
a storm-blast, and tlien a bloody chasm would open in the 
advancing line. Again and again and again the guns 
belched out their deadly message ; and again and yet again 
the stern warriors closed their ranks and moved onward 
to the charge. Dead and dying are left at every step — 
bloody drops of agony wrung from the giant division at 
every fatal footfall ; but still those heroic men press on. 
They reach within three hundred yards of Hancock's line, 
when suddenly that terrible Second Corps rises to its feet 
and pours in a volley that smites down the battalions of 
Pettigrew and Pickett as if God's avenging angel had 
breatlied upon them. VVliole brigades withered and shruidt 
into annihilation before that terrible storm of death. Many 
threw up their liands, came into our lines and sought the 
rear as prisoners. Farther to tlie right, however, the at- 
tacking column actually pushed on till it struck our line 
and charged with the bayonet. There was a horrible mo- 
ment of active death that makes the soul sick with horror 
to contemplate ; and then the remnants of that gallant 
eigiiteen thousand rolled back, blaspheming, bleeding, 
despairing, dying, and the crisis of the war was past. Lee 
had wasted twelve thousand veterans, and had lost the 
flower of his army. Five thousand prisoners and thirty 
three colors were taken in front of Hancock's line. 



44 

Fredericksburg- was avenged ! 

In the very moment of victory Hancock was wounded. 
A sliell from the enemy had struck a fence and sent tlie 
splinters flying. A big rusty nail struck Hancock in tlie 
thigh and penetrated to the bone, splintering it, and mak- 
ing an ugly flesh wound. He pulled the nail from his leg 
and remarked : " They must be hard up for ammunition 
when they throw such shot as that !" He refused to 
leave the field till it was evident the attack would not be 
renewed. 

Hancock dispatched an aide to Gen. Meade, saying : 
" Tell Gen. Meade that the troops under my command 
have repulsed the enemy, who are now flying in all direc- 
tions in my front." Meade replied : " Say to Gen. Han- 
cock [ regret exceedingly that he is wounded, and tliat I 
thank him, for the country and myself, for the service he 
has rendered to-day." 

On each of the three days of this greatest of Ameri- 
can conflicts, Haucock had been the savior of the army. 
On the first he had stayed the retreat of our troops, 
brought order out of confusion, selected the line of oper- 
ations, decided upon the place to fight, and assigned to 
the troops their positions. On the second, Meade had 
asked him to take command ou the left, where he had re- 
paired Sickles's disaster, stopped Hood's career, and pre- 
served our line. On the third, he had repelled the last 
desperate assault with a carnage that broke the spirit of 
the enemy and practically ended the battle. 



45 

Meade thanked him on the field of battle ; the Con- 
gress of tlie United States returned him the thanks of the 
countrj', and the people ratified the resolution. 

His wound was found to be severe, and he went to 
iiis parents' liome at Norristown to recover. So soon as 
he was able to walk with a crutcli, he paid a hasty visit 
to West Point, and thence retired to his own home at 
Longwood, near St. Louis. It was Winter before lie re- 
joined his command ; and, even then, his wound contin- 
ued to sjive him much trouble. The thigh-bone had been 
more or less shattered, and from time to time pieces would 
work out and reopen the wound. In the Winter he was 
ordered North on special recruiting duty, the intention 
being that his corps should be strengthened up to 50,000. 
In carrying out this object he went from city to city, and 
was everywhere received with unbounded honor. In 
Philadelphia he received a most graceful compliment, be- 
ing tendered a public reception in Independence Hall. 
Following is a copy of the resolution passed on that occa- 
sion by the City Council : 

select and common council op the city of philadelphia. 

Welcome to Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. 

Resolved, by the Select and Common Council of the City of Philadel- 
phia, That the thaaks ot the citizens of Philadelphia are eminently 
due and are hereby tendered to 

iHajot (I&cnecal ^ancocft, 

for his brilliant services in the cause of the Union, during the present 



46 

iiuholy rebelliou against the authority of tiie gtnernment and people 
of tlie United Slates. 

Hesolved, That the use of Independence Hall be granted to Major 
General Hancock, for the reception of his friends, and in order to afford 
the citizens of Philadelphia an opportunity to testily their personal 
regard for him, and their appreciation of his gallantry and patriotism. 

Hesolved, That the Mayor of Philadelphia and the President of 
Councils be requested to carry the resolution into effect, and that the 
Clerks of Councils be requested to furnish a copy of the same to 
General Hancock. 



The ovation was one of the most gratifying ever 
accorded an American citizen. On the very spot made 
sacred by our revolutionary history; in the very hall 
where the Declaration of Independence was signed ; at the 
very desk on which it was signed ; beside the very chair 
in which John Hancock sat when he signed it, and in 
whicli George Wasliington sat when he presided over 
the first Congress of the United States ; beneath the 
great bell which " proclaimed liberty tliroughout the 
land to all the inhabitants thereof"; surrounded by relics 
of tlie days that tried men's souls — Winfield Scott Han- 
cock was congratulated by his fellow citizens for his hero- 
ism in defending that Union whicli John Hancock had 
done so much to create. 

From Philadelpliia Hancock's duties took him to New 
York. Here anotlier magnificent reception was tendered 
him in the Governor's room at the City Hall. At Albany 
the Legislature paid him honor ; and in Boston the Gen- 
eral Court invited him to a seat on the floor of the House. 
At a later date a magnificently-mounted sword was voted 



47 

to lilni at the Mississippi Sanitaiy Fair ; and at the Cen- 
tral Sanitary Fair in Phihidelphia a costly and beautiful 
set of horse equipments was voted him as the most popu- 
lar soldier of the war. 



48 



C II AFTER VI. . 

Before Spring he resumed his command. Grant had 
come east to assume personal direction of the Army of the 
Potomac, whicli was divided into three grand divisions, 
the right of which, tlie Second Corps, was placed under 
the command of Hancock ; the center, the Fifth Corps, was 
under Sedgwick. Burnside, with the Ninth Corps, was 
added to tlie army after crossing the Rapidan, and this 
swelled the total force under Grant's command to more 
than a hundred thousand. The opposing army, under 
Lee, probably numbered about seventy-five thousand. 

On the 4th of May Grant crossed the Rapidan, and 
entered upon one of the most protracted, desperate and 
bloody struggles recorded in history. On reaching the 
south bank of the Rapidan, the army entered the desolate 
wooded region known as the Wilderness, a few miles west 
of the Chancellorville battlefield. Grant's design was to 
cross this region, tlien mass against Lee, crush him in 
battle if possible, if not, turn his right and cut him off 
from his base of supplies. Lee would then have the op- 
tion of fighting to regain his communications with Rich- 
mond, or of making a sudden and determined dash on 
Washington. In the former case Grant would intrench, 
and would of course laugh at all attempts on Lee's part 



49 

to break his lines ; in tlie latter case, the strong defences 
of the capital would be able to hold the enemy at bay 
till Grant, following on Lee's heels, could catch him in a 
trap and capture him. 

Lee, however, had other views. He proposed to 
plant himself s(|uarely in Grant's road to Richmond, 
intrench and await liis enemy's assaults undercover, and 
to strike at every exposed flank during a movement 
toward the South. Grant had the advantage in numbers, 
hut Lee had position and perfect familiarity with the 
ground in his favor. And, to begin with, he did not pro- 
pose to let Grant march through the Wilderness unop- 
posed. Ewell was near the Wilderness, resting on the 
river. EEastily summoning his other corps, under Hill 
and Longstreet, Lee placed himself on Grant's flank, 
waited till Hancock had passed him ten miles, and then, 
on tlio 5th, threw Hill with great fury on Warren. Sedg- 
wick was soon after attacked by Ewell. Grant at first 
supposed these were demonstrations to retard his march ; 
but so soon as he became convinced that he was assailed 
in earnest, he recalled Hancock and sent word to Burn- 
side, still north of the Rapidan, to hurry to his aid. Han- 
cock retraced his steps with all possible speed, but was 
none too soon to relieve Warren from the pressure of 
Hill's attack. During the night of the 5th, Longstreet 
came upon the scene. Hancock divined that Longstreet 
woukl detach part of his corps for a flanking movement ; 
accordingly he posted lialf of his own corps to resist this 



50 

attempt, and at 5 o'clock in the morning, attacked in front 
with the other half. This movement was brilliantly suc- 
cessful, the enemy being driven back about two miles. 
As the other corps had not advanced, Hancock considered 
a further advance dangerous, and rested here. Lee then 
recalled Longstreet's flanking division, and massing the 
wliole of Longstreet's and Hill's corps, made the most 
desperate assaults on the Second Corps. The fighting 
ranks among the most determined and deadly of the 
whole war. The ground was thickly wooded ; artillery 
could not be used at all; and the contending forces 
could not see each other until they were at close quarters. 
In the afternoon Stevenson's division of Burnside's corps 
was driven back and Hancock's right was threatened. 
The latter sent Carroll's brigade to encounter this new 
enemy, which, taking the rebels in flank, routed tliem 
with great slaughter. Up to four o'clock our men held 
their lines against the most determined assaults; but 
now a new foe assailed them, against which they were 
powerless to contend. The dry leaves lying thick 
beneath the trees had caught fire, and the wind blowing 
toward Hancock's position, his whole line of wooden 
breastworks was soon in a blaze. The position was 
dreadfid, for those of our wounded who were unable to 
crawl off were literally roasted alive. Our line retired; 
and, the flames passing on as soon as the lighter material 
was consumed, the rebels, with a yell, rushed into the 
work and occupied it. They had scarce done so, how- 



61 

ever, before Hancock charged them again, drove them 
out with loss, and regained the position. This ended the 
fighting on Hancock's front. At a later hour, Ewell sud- 
denly swooped down on Sedgwick, captured the greater 
part of two brigades, and got safe off with his prize. On 
the morning of tlie 7th, Lee was found to have drawn off 
and intrenched himself in a position which Grant did not 
deem it prudent to assail. Our losses were 20,000, includ- 
ing 6,000 prisoners. Hancock was slightly wounded 
during the battle of the 6th. 

On the evening of the 7th, Grant again turned liis face 
toward Richmond. Fjut he had to move with great cau- 
tion, guarding well his flanks against his vigilant foe, who 
was ever on the watch to take advantage of tho slightest 
error. Tiiis gave Lee plenty of time to again post him- 
self across Grant's line of march; and when the latter 
reached Spottsylvania Court House, he found himself 
once more in front of a strong natural position, made 
doubly strong by art, and manned by the whole rebel 
army. 

It must be borne in mind that during this whole series 
of maneuvers and battles, from tlie Wilderness to Cold 
Harbor, the enemy did not fall back before Grant; the 
armies marched side by side. When they came in con- 
tact they fought ; when they got tired fighting they turned 
southward again ; but Lee always had the shorter line, 
and was always able to secure a position threatening 
Grant. Grant did not appear able even to gain a position 



52 

threatening Lee. Again, when Grant made a mistake 
Lee was always ready to pounce upon and punish him ; 
while we are forced to conclude either that Lee never 
made any mistakes, or that if he did, Grant was never 
ready to take advantage of them. When Lee struck our 
troops they were always on the march or in the open ; 
when we attacked the rebels, they were always in a strong 
position, well fortified. Why Lee was always able to 
march on the shorter line, while Grant was always com- 
pelled to make detours ; why Grant was always compelled 
to lose time in guarding his flanks from assault, while Lee 
was always able to move with celerity and lose no time in 
guarding against Grant — these are matters the military 
critics must settle. 

Lee's position was on a ridge, his center touching the 
River Po, but both of his wings refused, his whole line 
forming a crescent. On the 9tli there was some skirmish- 
ing, during which General Sedgwick was killed. On the 
10th Hancock moved upon the enemy's right, forced the 
passage of the river and gained some advantages. But 
Grant had determined to make his grand attack on Lee's 
center, and ordered Hancock back. As soon as the latter 
began to retire he was of course attacked, and the fight- 
ing was ol)stinate. To add to its horrors, the woods again 
took fire, and many of the wounded were burned to 
death. The losses here were about equal ; the rel)el 
attack was beaten off, and Hancock re-crossed in safety. 
Two of his divisions were then withdrawn to reinforce 



53 

Warren in his assault upon the enemy's center. Two 
charges were made and repulsed by the enemy, with a 
loss to our side of 5,000 men. The indomitable spirit of 
the Union leader displayed itself on this occasion, for it 
was on the evening of this bloody repulse that he sent a 
dispatch to Washington containing the famous sentence, 
" I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer." 
Some rain fell during the afternoon, and the night was 
dark, gloomy and foggy. If Grant was able to adhere 
more firmly to his set purpose after a disaster, Hancock 
was a man after his own heart. No sooner had night 
fallen than he moved his whole command to the left, once 
more re-crossed the river, and halted for a few hours 
of needed rest. The morning had not come when he was 
again in motion. Silently as death his lines moved 
through the dark woods, concealed by the heavy fogs. As 
soon as the enemy's pickets were seen, the whole corps 
dashed forward with a cheer, leaped over the rebel works 
and carried them with a bound. Four thousand prisoners 
and thirty guns were taken. Hancock hastily scribbled 
to Grant: "I have captured from thirty to forty guns," 
he said ; " I have finished up Johnson and am going into 
Early." He found, however, that the enemy's second 
line was too strong to be assailed, and he was soon con- 
vinced that he need not go beyond the works he had 
already captured in search of fighting. Scarce had our 
own men reversed the rifle-pits to serve as a cover against 
rebel attacks, when strong and determined attempts were 



54 

made to re-take them. Lee was usually the most prudent 
of commanders, seldom risking an assault unless the 
object aimed at was fully equal to the risks attending its 
conquest. In the present case, however, he appeared to 
allow his feelings to run away with liis discretion. The 
captured troops were irrecoverably gone ; the guns had 
nearly all been removed ; the works themselves were not 
essential to the integrity of his position ; yet he appeared 
insanely bent on regaining them, no matter what the cost 
might be. He had been in the works, and was very near 
capture when Hancock so unceremoniously made his 
morning call. Indeed the Confederate leader is said to 
have departed toward the rear in a manner more expedi- 
tious tlian dignified. And lie evidently formed a very 

« 
firm determination that the Second Corps should not 

retain the position it had gained. Accordingly lie col- 
lected every man that could be spared from the rest of his 
lines, and hurled 'two full corps at Hancock. The fight 
that ensued was among the most determined ever wit- 
nessed. Our men were well protected; and they poured 
the most murderous volleys into their antagonists as they 
cliarged. Line after line dashed up to the earthworks in 
the very madness of heroic resolve ; but they were met 
by men no less bravo than they. Again and again the 
desperate assault was made, but ever without success. 
Sometimes the troops in gray would actually reach the 
rifle-pits, and then the musketry ceased and the men 
fought over the low earthen parapet with the bayonet. 



55 

But, in spite of their superliimian efforts, the rebel ranks 
were surely forced back from every vain endeavor, and 
always left their dead and wounded behind in thousands. 
All day long that Titanic contest went on. Cartridge- 
boxes went out of fashion, and Hancock's men fought 
with open ammunition boxes beside them. The frightful 
nature of the contest may be judged by the fact that 
everywhere within musket range of that fiery vortex the 
forest trees were killed ; "and one tree eighteen inches in 
diameter was cut clean in two by the bullets." The day 
passed away and night came once more, but the awful 
conflict never paused. Five times the rebel hosts slirunk 
back from the terrible ordeal; but every time Lee re- 
formed them and ordered them back to the fight. The 
forest was filled with the smoke of battle, dimly lighted 
up with the incessant flashes of the musketry. The 
troops, hungry, thirsty, worn with their tremendous 
efforts, seemed mad with the very mania of battle — their 
faces black with powder, their throats parched with thirst 
— crazed, insane, furious, the}" dashed upon each other 
like warring fiends, till pandemonium itself offered no 
parallel to the scene. At length human nature could 
endure no more ; and at midnight Lee withdrew his whole 
a,vmj to a second line, stronger than the fii*st, and relin- 
quished to the victors their hard- won prize. It may well 
be imagined that, after twenty hours of such a desperate 
struggle, our men had no desire to pursue. 



56 



CHAPTER VII. 

Some days were now devoted to strategy, Grant en- 
deavoring to turn Lee's right flank, but without success. 
Lee, on the other hand, had had enough of fighting for 
the present, and stood on the defensive. Every where he 
threw up works in his front, and was quite willing to be 
attacked. On the 18th, Giljbon and Barlow made dem- 
onstrations against Lee's right, but made no impression. 
On the 19th, Ewell drove in Tyler's division of the Fifth 
Corps. Hancock sent assistance, and Ewell was driven 
off with considerable loss in killed and wounded and sev- 
eral hundred prisoners. 

In two weeks after crossing the Rapidan, our army 
had lost forty thousand men. 

On the night of the 20th, Grant withdrew from the 
front of Lee's position, and turned once more toward 
Richmond, Hancock in the advance ; but on reaching the 
North Anna River, his indefatigable enemy was, as usual, 
found entrenched in a strong position, barring the road. 
While our troops were on the march, on the 21st, Hill 
attacked the Sixth Corps, now Wright's, but was easily 
beaten off. On the 23d, Griffin's division was assailed 
with like result ; and on the same day Cutler, being 
q-ssaulted, beat the rebels badly, and took a thousancj 



67 

prisoners. About the same time Hancock advanced on 
the enemy's right, beat McLaws, took a work of some 
strength, and gained a strong position on the south bank 
of the river. But after a careful examination of the 
rebel position. Grant decided not to assault it, and on the 
26tli he again executed his favorite flank movement 
toward Richmond, leaving Hancock to guard his rear. 

The Pamunkey River was crossed without serious op- 
position, and the army entered upon the^sceneof Mc- 
Clellan's campaign of 1862. Skirmishing and minor com- 
bats were frequent, with the advantage somewhat on our 
side. On the 2d of June, tlie armies confronted each 
other at Cold Hai-bor, almost on the scene of the battle 
with Porter, two years earlier ; but this time the positions 
were reversed — Lee, largely outnumbered, intrenched 
himself and awaited Grant's attack. The latter had been 
reinforced by Smith's Eigliteenth Corps. 

On the morning of June 3, Grant ordered a general 
assault upon the enemy's lines, and this was made by the 
Second, Sixth and Eighteenth Corps. Burnside was 
ordered to assault at the same time, but lie did not get 
up early enough. The Sixth and Eighteenth Corps 
charged without much spirit, and were driven back after 
suffering inconsiderable loss. Not so with the Second 
Corps. Barlow and Gibbons dashed furiously upon the 
enemy's works through a dreadful fire of artillery and 
musketry ; and the former actually gained a foothold 
\7ithin the outer works ; but here he found himself ex^ 



58 

posed to a direct fire from a second line iu his front and 
an enfilading fire on both flanks from the works he had 
entered. After losing heavily, he was forced out, and 
the whole Second Corps threw up works a fevv yards in 
front of the enemy's position. In half an hour's time 
7,000 men had been killed and wounded. After the fight- 
ing was all over, Burnside announced that he had got into 
position on the enemy's flank and was ready to attack ; 
but the assault in which he was expected to join had now 
failed, and Burnside was recalled. In the evening, the 
rebels made a feeble attempt to drive tlie Second Corps 
from tlie new rifle-pits it had thrown up, but they were 
beaten off with little loss on eitlier side. 

In all the operations around Cold Harbor, the losses 
to the Union army aggregated 13,000. 

Our army remained in front of Cold Harbor more than 
a week, the lines in some places so close that a_^ biscuit 
could be tossed from one to the other ; but neither party 
felt like attacking the other. On tlie night of the 12th 
Hancock was withdrawn and marched nearly in McClel- 
lan's tracks to the James River, which lie crossed and ad- 
vanced on Petersburg. Grant, it seems, had decided to 
attack that place at once ; but Hancock had received no 
intimation of his design. He was ordered to march to a 
given point on a map, but as that point had no existence 
off of the map Hancock failed to find it. Had he been 
told to march on Petersburg he would have done that 
without any map. As it was, valuable time was lost, and 



59 

night fell before the troops could be got into posi- 
tion for operations. Late on the I6th, Hancock and 
Biirnside assailed the enemy's position and carried some 
of his works ; but by this time Lee had come upon the 
scene, and his whole army was close at hand within inte- 
rior and stronger lines, to which the works captured had 
but served as a mask. An assault was made on the inte- 
rior line, which was repulsed. Li the operations since 
crossing the James, Grant had lost 10,000 men. He now 
sat down to the siege of Petersburg. 

Almost from the l)eginning of the campaign the wound 
he had received at Gettysburg gave Hancock great 
trouble. From time to time pieces of bone worked to the 
surface, and any exertion more severe than usual gave 
him the most exquisite pain. The campaign so far had 
been one of the most exacting of which the annals of war 
have any record. Day after day of obstinate and bloody 
fighting were followed by nights of weary marching. 
From the Rapidan to Cold Harbor was one continuous 
battle-field. The dead and wounded of the army, laid 
lengthwise, would have readied the entire distance. In 
such times the generals of an army scarcely know what 
rest is. They must direct actual fighting, accompany 
their troops on the march, guard against surprises by the 
enemy, plan near operations, and manage the executive 
affairs of the army. All this Hancock did vvhile suffering 
from a painful and dangerous wound. Now, however, he 
was compelled to resign his command for a time. During 



60 

his absence his corps was sent on an expedition to destroy 
the Weldon Railroad, which movement was only partially 
successful. Oar forces were attacked by Hill ; and though 
the enemy was finally driven off, the corps returned with- 
out fully accomplishing its mission. Its losses were 
about two thousand. 



61 



C H APTE R VIII. 

So soon as the state of his health permitted, Hancock 
returned to his command, where his presence was sorely 
needed. The gaUant Second Corps — the fighting corps of 
all our armies — was but the shadow of its former self. It 
had occupied the post of lionor and of danger in every en- 
gagement since the crossing of the Rapidan, and its losses 
had been enormous. Its trail was a trail of blood. Dis- 
ease and fatigue broke down thousands whom the bullet 
had spared; other thousands went home when their terms 
of service expired ; and day by day the ranks grew thinner. 
Regiments dwindled to companies, and brigades to the 
proportions of very small regiments. It is true that 
recruits were sent forward in great numbers ; but alas, 
they were not the material that Hancock had formerly 
led. The men who had waited till tempted by flOOO 
bounties, and those picked out by the conscription wheel, 
were not the stuff of which heroes are made. As the eye 
of the general glanced down his line his heart was heavy. 
The gallant fellows who had charged into the very jaws of 
death at Fredericksburg ; who had stood rooted to the 
ground in that bloody corn-field at Antietam, where 
Hancock first found them ; who had faced both ways and 
fought to front and rear at Chancellorville ; who had 



62 

rolled back the fiery Southron at Gettysburg and smitten 
his host as God smote Sennacherib ; who had swept over 
the rebel lines at Spottsylvania and North Anna — where 
were they ? Ah, God ! they were gone, the true and the 
tried ; of each it might be said, as was said of anotlier 
gallant soldier : 

Close his eyes, liis work is done, — 

Wliat to him a frieud or foeman, 
Rise of morn or set ol" sun, 

Clasi) of man or kiss of woman V 

Lay liim low 

In the clover or the snow. 

Wliat cares lie? lie cannot know! 

Lay him low. 

The new recruits were entirely undisciplined ; but 
there was little time to teach them even the rudi- 
ments of the art of war. Tlie duties of the siege were 
very severe. The utmost vigilance had to be ol)served 
to guard against surprise. Picket and guard duty and 
the incessant skirmishes and alarms of the siege left 
little time for drill. Nevertheless, duty must be done ; 
and on the night of Jidy 26 Hancock was started across 
the James to threaten Richmond from the north side. 
Lee followed with five divisions, convinced that where 
Hancock went there was business to be done. This 
time he was mistaken. Hancock took post at Deep 
Bottom, a short distance above Malvern Hill, where lie 
employed lihnself in making demonstrations to amuse 
Lee. Some little skirmishing was done, but no serious 



63 

fighting, as Hancock's business was not to fight, but to 
keep as large a force as possible away from Petersburg in 
view of operations which it was hoped would deliver that 
city into our hands. For some weeks Burnside had been 
mining the rebel works, and had now dug under a fort 
near Cemetery Hill. It was proposed, while a large pro- 
portion of the garrison was away to watch Hancock, that 
the mine should be fired, Burnside should rush in, occupy 
Cemetery Hill and intrencli himself there before the 
enemy could concentrate against him ; and, as this hill 
commanded the town, it was hoped that the siege would 
thus be practically ended. Early on the morning of 
July 30, the mine, containing four tons of powder, was 
exploded ; the fort was blown into the air and its garrison 
of 300 men destroyed. The rel)els were paralyzed witli 
fear, and hastily ran out of the works on both sides of 
the mine. Had the assaulting column moved promptly, 
as was intended, the whole affair would have been suc- 
cessful. But Burnside was late, as usual. Instead of 
rushing in at once and taking advantage of the panic 
within the rebel lines, valuable time was lost, and when 
the division did advance it halted in the hole made by 
the explosion, called the crater. A single regiment 
moved forward toward Cemetery Hill, but, not being 
supported, it fell back. At length the enemy brought 
up troops, planted guns, and begun pouring a murderous 
fire upon the division huddled together in the crater 
like rats in a hole. A few escaped ; but our loss was 



64 

about 4,000, of whom nearly one half were made pris- 
oners. The raining operations having failed, Hancock 
was recalled. 

On August 12th Hancock was again sent to the north 
side of the James. Grant felt that his siege of Peters- 
burg was little more than a farce. He sat on one side of 
a line of works and Lee sat on the other. Grant received 
supplies by the James River, Lee received his by railroads. 
Grant desired to seize Lee's means of communication and 
thus besiege him in reality ; and his design in sending a 
new expedition to threaten Richmond from the north was 
to draw away sufficient strength from the garrison to leave 
him free to make an attempt on the Weldon Railroad, one 
of the chief sources of the rebel su^jplies. Accordingly 
Hancock once more crossed the James and advanced to- 
ward Richmond across the old Malvern Hill battle-field. At 
first it appeared that the rebels had not been deceived 
into following him, and he made some serious assaults on 
their lines. The operations, though intended only as a 
demonstration in force, resulted in pretty hard fighting. 
Hancock gained some advantages, and carried a portion 
of the enemy's works ; but the purpose his expedition 
was intended to serve had never been accomplished, and 
he was once more recalled. His losses in this reconnois- 
sance were about five thousand ; those of the enemy were 
nearly or quite as great. 

So soon as it became evident that a considerable part 
of the garrison of Petersburg had been sent away to pro- 



tect tiie rebel capital, Warren moved toward the Weldon 
Railroad, which he took without much resistance, and for- 
tified himself before Lee could bring to the spot enough 
troops to drive him off. The gain to our side was not 
great, however ; for Lee continued to receive supplies by 
the Weldon road, only being compelled to wagon them 
from Reams Station around Warren's left. 

To put a stop to this, Hancock was sent, on the 21st of 
August, to take Reams Station and to destroy the railroad 
for a considerable distance south of it. He reached the 
point indicated, destroyed some property, posted one of 
liis divisions to protect his rear, and with the other two 
divisions began tearing up the road. The next day he 
was assailed by Hill in strong force. A severe fight en- 
sued, in which Hill was badly punished ; but some of 
Hancock's new troops did not behave well, and he was 
compelled to fall back with loss. He called for help ; but, 
though troops lay within four miles of him, none went to 
his assistance. In the end he was compelled to retire, 
having lost two thousand men and some guns. Hill's loss 
was much greater. 

No serious attempt was made on eitlier side, for some 
weeks after the failure of tliis expedition ; but on the 
27th of October the Second, Fifth and Ninth Corps 
moved completely around Lee's right, with intent to cut 
all his communications south of the Appomattox. It was 
believed that this would compel Lee to evacuate Peters- 
burg, and possibly Richmond also. The column moved 



66 

'liroctly west from the extreme left of our lines, and then 
faced north. Hancock's intention was to close his riglit 
upon the left of Warren, and it was reported that this 
had been done ; but in fact a space of twelve hundred 
yards had been left unfilled. The ground was swamj)y 
and so tliickly wooded that it was impossible to know ex- 
actly liow the troops were posted. Hetli's division of 
Hill's corps, reconnoltering our position, stumbled upon 
this gap, and got upon Hancock's flank before they were 
observed, and before they themselves knew of their pe- 
culiar situation. But on discovering our men, the rebels 
cliarged our flank and doubled up a brigade of Mott's 
division. Hancock instantly sent Egan's brigade to 
charge Heth ; but Egan had already moved on his own 
responsibility, concluding, like the good soldier he was, 
that the best thing to do when he saw his enemy 
was to attack him. Thus the flankers found themselves 
flanked, and Heth was driven l^ack with considerable 
loss. 

Grant now sent word to Hancock to take command of 
the whole movement, and to act as in his judgment 
seemed best. Hancock was fully aware of tlie importance 
of the stake for which he was pla3'ing ; but he knew also 
the perils of his position. He miglit gain everything ; 
capture all Lee's lines of communication south of the 
Appomattox, and so compel the evacuation of Petersburg ; 
and he might, on the other hand, have his own communi- 
cations with the army severed, be overwhelmed l)y 



6T 

numbers, and compelled to capitulate. His ammunition 
was insufficient for continued operations ; he knew that a 
strong force was gathering in his front; the ground was 
difficult for offensive operations and favorable to the 
enemy ; and the troops under his command were not the 
best in the world. Reluctantly — very reluctantly — he 
decided to abandon the enterpi-ise ; and the forces engaged 
in it returned to the lines in front of Petersburg. Our 
losses in this expedition were one thousand five hundred; 
those of the enemy two thousand to two thousand five 
hundred. 

There was little more fighting in front of Petersburg. 
Tlie armies settled down in their Winter quarters. There 
was continuous skirmishing and picket-firing and a great 
deal of cannonading; but movements of troops on a 
large scale were suspended. In the Spring, Grant deter- 
mined to make one more desperate attempt to carry the 
enemy's works. Lee, however, did not await his assault, 
hut liastily quitted the beleaguered city, and marched to 
join Johnston. He would tlien Inive a hundred thousand 
men, but he would find himself wedged in between Grant 
on the north and Sherman, now rapidly approaching from 
the south. He probably hoped to be able to attack and 
beat one of these antagonists before the other could come 
up. But certain provision trains which he counted on 
taking with him had been ordered l)y Jeff. Davis to Rich- 
mond, and Lee found himself without supplies. His 
army broke up, and being vigorously pursued, the portion 



68 

which remained with him .surrendered at AppomattoJi 
Court House. 

In these closing scenes of the struggle, Hancock did 
not take part. On November 26, 1864, he was recalled 
to Washington, with orders to re(U'uit a veteran corps for 
service on otlier fiekls. Before that duty could be per- 
formed the war was brought to a close, and the strife 
which had cost the country a million lives and many 
thousands of millions of accumulated wealth, ended in a 
restoration of the Union as it was, except that involun- 
tary servitude was blotted out of existence. The vast 
hosts of armed men returned to the pursuits of peace, 
and the disunited sections agreed to " shake hands across 
the bloody cliasm," and to repair so far as they could the 
evil effects of the fratricidal conflict. 

m\ small army was needed for protection against 
Indians ; and in this Hancock decided to remain. Only 
a few of the many gallant leaders who had gained promi- 
nence in the struggle, could in the reorganized army 
receive positions at all commensurate with tlieir abilities 
or their rank in the volunteer service. Grant and Sher- 
man, the commanders of tlie two great armies, were, of 
course, made General and Lieutenant General. Hancock 
stood among the next in rank, and was made a Major 
General. He was at first given command over the Cen- 
tral Military Department ; then over that of Louisiana and 
Texas, where the utmost firmness and prudence were 
required. Fj-om 1870 to 1872 he commanded the Depart- 



69 

ment of Dakota ; and in the year last named, on the 
death of General Meade, he was removed to the Depart- 
ment of the East, with headquarters at New York, where 
lie remains at present. 



70 



CHAPTER IX. 

In politics Hancock is a Democrat. But during the 
war he continually urged that party lines should be aljan- 
doned. The war was a war for the Union ; and that issue 
was of such transcendent importance that a patriotic man 
could, he tliought, waste no time for mere partisan squab- 
bles. When the country itself was in danger of going to 
pieces, the first duty was to restore it to peace and pros- 
perity ; then would come the time to consider who were 
the best men to hold office. 

In the Democratic National Convention held in New 
York in 1868, Hancock was urged for the presidential 
nomination. On the eighteenth ballot he received 144|^ 
votes, the largest number given any candidate except 
Pendleton, who on the twelfth ballot had received 145^- 
votes. T)Ut on the twenty-second, Horatio Seymour was 
nominated by tlie unanimous voice of tlve Convention. 

Hancock is famed for his hospitality. He entertains 
in princely style, a hal)it his ample fortune permits liim 
to indulge in to his heart's content. He may almost l)e 
said to keep open house at his headquarters on Governor's 
Island. He is well read, has a fine critical taste in litera- 
ture, and is a writer of no mean ability. In his personal 
appearance he is fortunate. Not a few of his friends 



71 

claimed for him that he was the finest looking soldier in 
the army. 

His success as a soldier resulted almost entirely from 
his personal qualities and his eminent fitness to command. 
Tlie leading- point in his character is his ability to take in 
all the details of a situation at a single glance ; to decide 
instantly what should be done, and to give the necessary 
orders without a moment's hesitation. Tliis all-compre- 
hending vision is the first requisite of a soldier. " Tlie 
chess-board,"'said Napoleon at a peculiar juncture of af- 
fairs, "is very mucli tangled ; it is I only who see through 
it." Hancock saw througli the intricacies of the game at 
a glance. At Williamsburg, after seizing the works on 
tlie rebel left he was ordered back ; Sumner feared that 
ho would be isolated and captured. But Hancock saw, 
what Sumner did not know, that the point taken com- 
manded tlie whole lebcl position, and he took the re- 
sponsibility of refusing to obey orders — a grave responsi- 
bility; l)ut the event justified him. At Cvold Harbor 
Warren took the responsibility of not fighting when or- 
dered. Swinton says tliat after orders had been received 
to attack the rebel works, protected by abattis, flanked 
by impassable swamps, lined with skilled marksmen, and 
their front swept by a hundred guns, as the General rode 
down his lines he saw the men preparing for action with 
their accustomed alacrity ; but they were writing their 
names on slips of paper which they pinned to their 
blouses, that their bodies might be recognized when the 



72 

fight was over. It was too mucli ; the meti Were Will- 
ing to be led to certain death ; but V/arren was not 
willing to lead them there, and he refused to obey his 
orders. At Gettysburg Hancock had scarce reached the 
ground when he decided that the battle ought to be fought 
there and not at any other place. A single glance told 
him everything. His eyes swept along Cemetery Ridge 
from Culi^'s Hill to Round Top ; and, without wasting a 
single moment in examining the details of the position, 
he notified Meade of the conclusions he had reached, and 
began to post the troops. 

His judgment is equal to this intuition. He reluctantly 
decided not to press the advantage gained on Lee's right 
at Petersburg, in October, 1864. But we have not found 
a military critic to condemn his action. But this is the 
solitary instance in his military history when he declined 
to meet the enemy on anytliing like equal terms. He 
generally marched toward the battle-field. " I always 
know where to find Hancock," said Grant. The import- 
ance of the two qualities mentioned — his instant perception 
and his excellent judgment — may be appreciated from the 
number of instances in which he saved the army from dis- 
aster. At Williamsburg his seizure of the earthworks 
near Fort Magruder compelled the rebels to evacuate the 
position they had held. At Glendale, when Stonewall 
Jackson was endeavoring to rejoin Lee and thus unite the 
rebel army against half of ours, Hancock stood like a 
lion in the way, and the Stonewall Division found " no 



thoroughfare" there. If Jackson's way had not been barred 
the consequences would have been disastrous. Hancock 
was thanked in general orders for conspicuous gallantry 
in that engagement. At Chancellorville he averted dis- 
aster at a most critical moment. At Gettysburg he proved 
himself the savior of the army no less than three times. 
And it was only his magnificent fighting at the Wilder- 
ness and at Spottsylvania that enabled Grant to pull 
through on those terrible days without positive defeat. 

Hancock is eminently a leader of men. His presence 
animates and in -pires his soldiers. They recognize in him 
the commander who is determined to have a soldier's duty 
from a soldier ; but also the general who knows what he 
asks of men and who never requires impossibilities. Above 
all, they recognize their moral and intellectual superior, 
whose will-power moves the machine. It is this native 
power — the power which made the old Greek heroes 
"kings of men " — which fills up and rounds out the sol- 
dierly character. The battle-field is a crucial test. Sham 
and pretence go for little there. A man may as well pat 
the padding of his coat, and call it his heart, as to look for 
mere assumption to bear him through when armies meet 
in the dread shock and savagery of war. In that very 
whirl and hell of destruction Hancock rose to his grandest 
heights. A cup of tea or a bottle of wine brings out all 
the reserved power a little man has stored away ; a battle- 
field only can bring up from their depths the ultimate 
capabilities of a gr^at soldier. 



71 

America will hold the name of Hancock in grateful 
remembrance ; and the world will rank him among the 
hard fighters — the Cromwells, the Neys, the Miirats, the 
Stonewall Jacksons — who believed that war was a thing 
of terrible earnestness, and that blows are no blows unless 
struck with intent to hurt. He has not yet been called 
to lead armies ; but where he has had an opportunity to 
display generalship he has shown high ability. But he 
will be remembered as the hard hitter, the strong fighter, 
to whom his countrymen may point as to a paladin among 
gallant knights, without fear and without reproach ; one 
whose deeds our children and our children's children will 
read with admiration and pride ; whose achievements 
history will delight to record : and whose memory pos- 
terity will preserve in her muster-roll of men who have 
deserved well of their country. And the genius of fame 
in after years will garland his brow with laurel, and, 
pointing to the name of Hancock, will "say to all the 
world, This was a man ! " 



THte 

BALLET DAl^CEE'S 
HUSBAND. 



By ERNEST FEYDEAU. 



Translated from the French by Mary Neal Sherwood. 



" A bright and entertaining novel." 

" Replete with characteristic incidents of Parisian life." 

" There are few translations or ' adaptations ' from the French 
that can be called ' as good as the original,' but Mrs. Sherwood 
has been highly successful in this kind of literary labor, and her 
work bears the stamp not only of familiarity with a foreign lan- 
guage, but with her own, which is always expressed in terse and 
flowing phrases." 

The enterprising publishing firm, Henry A. Sumner & Co., 
Chicago, have a valuable acquisition in Mrs. Mary Neal Sher- 
wood, who has just been engaged by them to translate Feydeau's 
great Novel, " Le Marl dela Danseuse," which made an immense 
hit in Paris some years ago. Mrs. Sherwood's share of the work 
is sure to be spiritedly and conscientiously done, and the English 
version can not fail of interesting American readers, whose all- 
abiding faith in the seriousness of French idioms has been 
severely abused by the countless school-girl translations which 
have clogged the literary market, and huit the sales here of sev- 
er. il of the greatest French novels of the present day. — Gazette, 
Boston, March 27. 

For sale by all Booksellers. 

Will be issued in May, and will be one of our popular 12mos. 
at one dollar. 

HENRY A. SUMNER & CO., Publishers, 

Lakeside Buildlngi Chicago* 



A New Edition 

BAYNES' ESSATS 

IN 

BIOGRAPHY AND CRITICISM, 



The I St Series, embracing 426 pp., contains articles 
on Thomas De Quincey and his Works, Tennyson and 
his Teachers, Mrs. Barrett Browning, Glimpses of 
recent British Art, Ruskin and his Critics, Hugh 
Miller, Dickens, Bulwer, Thackeray, Currer Bell, etc. 

In the 2d Series of 392 pages, the contents will be 
found equally interesting, covering, as it does, the 
works of Charles Kingsley, Thomas B. Macaulay, 
Sir Archibald Alison, Samuel Tjylor Coleridge, Wel- 
lingtcin. Napoleon Bonaparte, Plato, Characteristics of 
Christian Civilization, The Modern University, The 
Pulpit and the Press, "The Testimony of the Rocks," 
a defence. 

Uniform in size and binding, printed on good 

palmer, and offered at $1.00 per volume, they are 

among the cheapest books in the market. Advance 
orders solicited. 

Address the publishers: 

HENRY A SUIVINER & COMPANY, 

Lakeside Building, Chicago. 



WHAT THE PRESS SAY OF 
yJULi lino FRENCH ^ 

MARRIAGE 



OF 
ALBERT DELPIT. 



The N. Y. Evening Post^ of April 19, says : 

" The story is told with cleverness, and there is an intensity of 
interest in it which only very cleverly told dramatic stories have." 

The Pittsburgh Telegraphy of April 9, says: 

" A romance of remarkable power, but decidedly French in its 
many-sided phases." 

The Philadelphia Times, of April 22, says: 

" It is a singularly well-contrived and well-written novel. * 

* * As a furtuer indication of tlie high literary standing of the 
liook, the (act may be mentioned that it was published originally 
as a serial in the Revue des Deux-Mondes." 

The National Journal of Education, of Boston, for April 15, says : 

"This is a charming, good story. * * * A book in such 
an atiraclive style is a luxury." 

The National Literary Monthly, of Toledo, Ohio, for May, says : 
"This is a thoroughly interesting story, beautifully told. * * 

* The book before us is a noticeable exception to this general 
rule of the past. From first to last the language is chaste and 
pure, and the scenes both interesting and exalting. It leaches 
a forcible lesson." 

Inventors' and Manufacturers'' Gazette, of Boston, for May, says : 

"Scenes are vividly sketched, and to the life, and the characters 
are drawn with the boldness of an able novelist. It will be read 
by all classes." 

Unique in style of binding. Clearly printed on fine paper. 
Odrtte's Marriage is offered at $1.00. 

Mailed, pu^l-free, on receipt of the price by the publishers, 

HENRY A. SUMNER & COMPANY, 

L,akesi<le liuiltling, Chicago. 

or Sale by all Booksellers. 



HENRY X A. X SUMNER X 



013 700 297 8 



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HENRY A. SUMNER & CO., Publishers, CHICAGO. 



